You’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Much of my life over the last three years has been written in black ink…a dark script of pain, sorrow, loss and loneliness.

And yet, every day and every word of darkness God has edited, rewritten, crossed out, and written over in red ink.

Because…

Red-inked words of life rewritten over the black-inked script of our lives.

A truth so beautifully captured in a story my daughter wrote when she was just sixteen:

Checkers

Imagine an intense checkers game.

You’re the red pieces…and your opponent smiles menacingly as he sets up his black pieces. You start out feeling very confident, thinking that this game will be a breeze. But as the game goes on, red pieces start disappearing and black kings seem to be everywhere you try to go. Eventually the board is totally void of red pieces…except for one.

One tiny, pathetic little piece is cornered by all the black kings. Sweat pours down your face and you think that there is no way you could ever beat your opponent. On the other hand, he’s sitting across from you with glinting eyes and a devilish smile, showing confidence that makes you feel like he could jump up and smash you into the ground.

But then a shadow falls across the board. You both look up, and see a man standing there with a smile on his face. A patch on his shirt says “All-Time Checkers Champion, 33AD.” You look over at your opponent, only to see that his face has gone white. The man gently places his hand on your shoulder and says, “Well, how’s the game going?”

“Not so well…” You reply. “I’m going to lose.”

The man quickly scans over the board and then looks back at you.“Doesn’t look too bad to me. Anyway, this isn’t your game…”

I’m heading out on a new writing adventure. I want to try to take a picture in words…and capture a fleeting memory, moment, or imagination…in 300 words or less.

<click> here’s my first pic:

The acrid smoke burns my nostrils.

I sniff in again. The prickly sensation travels down the back of my throat, and I am satisfied.

I have smelled Fall.

Our rakes lay abandoned in a haphazard array in the bare grass as we gather around the piles of growing flame. Horse chestnuts, shed with the crisp browned leaves, explode from their hidden shells inside the fire…and we cheer.

The joy tingles us to our toes and we forget our aching shoulders. The chorus of mournful tunes that echoed in the cool clear air just moments before have fallen like the leaves, and now fertilize the flames and the fun.

This burning ritual has no gender bias—I am an equal here with my brothers, covered in crumbled leaf dust, infiltrated with smoke, as we tend the fires with imagined military precision.

We don’t know the smoke is making our eyes sting and our lungs choke until there are only ashes of leaves left.

The rakes are forgotten for the leaves of tomorrow to fall upon them. The boys tease each other and run away down the lane.

After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 MSG

It’s been three months since I’ve written a blog post.

I have three months of wonderful memories shared with family and friends.

I’m three months older (which, at my age, is not something I celebrate)…

Wait…I’m older, but am I also three months wiser?

Oh yes, I believe I am.

I’m wiser and I’m transformed. Older, but renewed.

All because of three miraculous days in June, and the three months of healing that have followed.

So I ponder the number 3 today…

It was three days before Jesus rose from the dead.

Three is a number of RESURRECTION.

Thank you Jesus for the resurrection life you poured into me during those three days and have continued to pour out these last three months.

Three is the number of DIVINE PERFECTION—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–the fullness of God.

You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything. Colossians 2:9-10 MSG

Thank you God, for calling me to empty myself of the things that filled my life that were not of you—pain, fear and sins of unbelief–and filling me with the fullness of your life.

3, you have been good to me.

Soon I’ll write a testimony of your goodness, your mercy, and your healing power Lord. But for today, I’ll ponder your Divine perfection and the power of your resurrection life at work in me…

The number three “signifies and represents the Holy Spirit as taking the things of Christ and making them real and solid in our experience.” –biblestudy.org

And a yummy sandwich! 🙂

Why is everyone hungry for more? “More, more,” they say. ”More, more.” I have God’s more-than-enough, more joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees. Psalm 4:6-7 (MSG)

Hunger.

It motivates.

That gnawing, I-need-something-to-eat-right-now feeling forces us to seek the nourishment we need to stay healthy. And for 20-something girls with an appetite, that nourishment is often found (with coupons) at the local sub shop…

Wrapped in paper and emblazoned with the title “An Epic Story Sandwich,” it goes like this:

We were standing in line to order in front of the glass case with all the ingredients neatly organized in their metal containers. My friend Kassi and I were joking around and I mentioned how funny it would be if you ordered your sandwich in story form. Kassi dared me to do it. So I turned to the guy behind the counter and asked him if I could order my sandwich in a story.

His stoic, greet-the-customer smile transformed into a playful grin. He set up the bread and then positioned himself to act out the story. Josh the sandwich guy was ready to play along…

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With fear and trembling, I’ve started a new website and blog. This is the first “official” post.

Over time, I will transition from this blog to the new one, and I hope you will continue to share the journey with me there!

God’s been doing amazing things in my life since I started sharing here, turning bad days and lost dreams into beauty and hope…like only He can...

My journal led me here…to coloring life beautiful.

I went looking for a holy experience of beauty in the midst of suffering, and found it…

Beauty Moments

My beauty moment—recognizing that to see the world through a child’s eyes is such a gift. But when the child is gone…and I no longer experience those moments naturally each day…how can I re-discover them again? How can I see life as new every day?

If I put on my child eyes…what did I see today that was new and beautiful?

Hmmm…my first thought is “me.” What a great place to start God. I never would have thought of that, but of course you would!

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Sharing today in remembrance of our beloved Grammy, who passed into the loving arms of Jesus on this day 11 years ago. She was not just a mom, she was WOW!

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1 KJV)

Can you imagine telling 2-year-olds that they “shall not want”?

They do want! They want candy bars at the store. They want their siblings’ toys. They want doughnuts for dinner. A child wants a lot of things, but a parent can say “no” if it’s something the child doesn’t need.

As grown-ups, we have “wants,” too. And sometimes our wants are not so different (bring on the chocolate!). But we have a Heavenly Father who can say “no” too.

Just like a 2-year-old, we don’t always get what we want, but 2 Peter 1:3 says,

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.”